Dr. David B. Plude

Dave has worked at APC since 1992. He received his Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology, Duluth Campus in 1999. While Dave considers himself a generalist, and works with a variety of different issues, his areas of specialization include working with couples/families, communication, attention problems, mood issues, stress, sports psychology and anger management. Dave enjoys working with people and has over 34 years of experience helping individuals, couples and families work through many challenging issues.

Dave has several different approaches to counseling, drawing from personal and professional experiences.  His primary and initial focus is to really get to know his clients and what life has been like for them.  Understanding the context of each client’s experiences helps shape his approach to helping them through challenges.  After developing a thorough understanding of each individual Dave utilizes different blends of Relational Life therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as humanistic and psychodynamic therapies.  Some of the more influential models and trainings Dave works with Terry Reals RLT, The Gottman Method, and Dr. Steven Hayes Acceptance and Commitment therapy.

While completing his Doctoral Degree, Dave published his research on attention deficit disorder and EEG-based diagnosis. His doctoral dissertation studied differentiation between anxiety-based attention problems and ADHD-based attention problems.  Other research Dave has been involved with occurred at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and involved setting up a neuropsychological assessment and treatment program for college students with ADD/ADHD as well as other mental health needs.  In addition to his current duties at APC, Dave has actively participated with a group of local professionals and advocates to improve and redesign our approach to domestic violence and abuse issues. He has served as a consultant with the St Louis County Drug Court.  He enjoyed his tenure as board member for the Duluth Superior Alpine Club, as well as coaching and providing sports psychology services and presentations for local youth and adult athletes.  Personally speaking, Dave is a passionate clinician, outdoors enthusiast, skier and loves sharing life with his wife (Shelley) of over 32 years, adult daughters, granddaughter and friends.

‍Dave is offering both in person counseling and online counseling services. Dave can offer online counseling to individuals across state lines residing in over 43 states. If it feels like Dave would be a good fit for you, and you don’t reside in Minnesota, check out the participating PSYPACT states by visiting;  https://psypact.gov/page/psypactmap  The chances are good that he can provide you services in your home state virtually, or if you are away from Minnesota.

FAQ

Question: What can I expect from my first few sessions of counseling?

Answer:  Dave prefers to deeply understand the big picture.  What is bringing you in and all the complexities surrounding the choice to start counseling, as well as, what do you want to get out of counseling? That often takes up most of the first meeting.  From there, Dave spends the next session gathering relevant historical information and building insights. Then developing a treatment plan to pursue over subsequent sessions.

Question: What age groups do you prefer to work with?

Answer: Primarily adults, however, I do work with children and teens within the scope of family therapy as well as sports psychology. 

In addition to private pay, Dave currently accepts the following insurance companies:

• Aetna
• Allied Benefit Systems
• Allied Cigna
• Aspirus Health Plan
• Benefit Plan Administrators Co
• BIND Surest
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Blue Plus
• Cigna
• Duluth Building Trades
• Edison Health Solutions
• Ever North Behavioral Health
• Federal Employee Program
• Fond Du Lac Tribal Support
• Gravie Administrative Services
• Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire
• Health EZ
• Health Partners
• Humana
• IMCare
• League of Minnesota Cities
• MEDICA
• Medicare
• Medical Assistance – Minnesota Medicaid
• Operating Engineers Local #49
• Optum
• PersonifyHealth
• Security Health
• SFM
• State Employee Insurance
• TriWest
• UCare
• UMR
• United Health Care